Instead, Maeve helps to take care of the girls and Danny. He finishes medical school despite being uninterested in working as a doctor, hoping to please Maeve. I totally agree! His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. The Dutch House Built in 1922, in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park (then mostly farmland), the eponymous house takes its name from the VanHoebeeks. I have read some comments detailing disbelief that Elna would leave her Children. It seemed a little too far out the story of the mother that goes to India and comes back… What mother leaves 2 children? It certainly made me think about my own childhood and the stories I’ve formed around it. This disrupts Maeve's plans for grad school. Patchett’s new book is contemplative and quiet, spanning many decades, from 1945, when Cyril Conroy impulsively purchases a stately mansion in Elkins Park near Philadelphia. Instead, Maeve pushes Danny to pursue an expensive education (medical school), in order to drain the trust and prevent money from reverting to Andrea. The Dutch House is a 2019 novel by Ann Patchett. She also chose Elkins Park given its proximity to New York, which she already knew would feature in the novel. Perhaps returning to their Children seemed like the opposite of love to Elna. Even if you feel like I did, I think you’ll probably still find something of value in this story anyway. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 : NEW YORK, NY POSMAN 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue 7:30 PM. I loved the audiobook. They (reluctantly) go and discover that Andrea now has a degenerative mental condition and doesn't recognize them. The only thing Cyril provided for is an educational trust for Danny, but not Maeve. When Danny is 3 and Maeve is 10, she falls ill and abandons the family to work with th… The Dutch House is a family saga that centers around siblings Danny and Maeve. Their children, Danny and Maeve, were raised in the Dutch House. In Part II, Danny is in college now. Flipping through its pages, I feel myself drawn into the understated and engrossing story of Danny and Maeve Conroy. Left with no one else, the two siblings rely on each other. On the most basic level, The Dutch House is a book about two people piecing together the fragments of their youth. I am sure this book is great for our Book club discussions. Fluffy tells Danny that their mother Elna is alive and in town. In college, Danny discovers his genuine interest in real estate and wants to follow in Cyril's footsteps, but lacks the capital to pursue it. Cyril marries Andrea, who falls in love with the Dutch House – so called after its builders, the VanHoebeeks (“Van Who-bake, mis-pronounced as Van Ho-bik by everyone in Elkins Park”), who had made their fortune selling cigarettes in the run-up to the First World War. Maeve still works as a bookkeeper at a grocery store in a nearby town. DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 2019 TIME: 9:30am – 11:30am* LOCATION: Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park, PA** Reading & Conversation with Author Ann Patchett Join us and meet author Ann Patchett as she presents her new novel, The Dutch House! The reason I set the book in Elkins Park is because of my friend Erica Schultz (née Buchsbaum). See the archives. That said, there were parts of the Dutch House didn’t entirely resonate with me. The siblings are raised together in the Dutch House by their father and their stepmother Andrea. Instead, he goes to medical school. People who enjoy family dramas or have liked Patchett’s work in the past should definitely consider this title. Elkins Park is notable for its varied architectural styles (among them: Modern, American colonial and Dutch colonial, Queen Anne, English Cottage and Tudor) its wealth of homes designed by renowned 19th and 20th century architects such as Horace Trumbauer, Louis Kahn and Robert A.M. Stern and its diversity of religious institutions. I did not care that much for the book. Maeve and Danny still stake out the Dutch House, but mostly out of nostalgia. Like Hansel & Gretel, Maeve and Danny are forced to lean on each other and, as adults, are trying to pick up the pieces of their childhood and find a way back home. The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Follow along on Goodreads, or keep in touch via the newsletter. I was out of town for a while and have been otherwise wrapped up in some other stuff, so this review took a little longer to get up than I’d intended, but here it is! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 : BROOKLYN, NY GREENLIGHT BOOKSTORE St. Joseph’s, 245 Clinton Avenue 7:30 PM Intended as a gift for his wife as well as a symbol of their rising fortunes, the Dutch House is … “The Dutch House” is a sibling story — that of Maeve and Danny Conroy, a brother and sister growing up comfortable in Elkins Park, Pa., in a house … The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is published by Bloomsbury (RRP £18.99) To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Toward the end of World War II, real estate developer and landlord Cyril Conroy surprises his wife, Elna, with the keys to a mansion in the Elkins Park neighborhood of Philadelphia. When Cyril dies from a heart attack, Andrea bans both Maeve and Danny from the house, which is now hers along with Cyril's entire business. They return to the street outside the Dutch House every time Danny is back in town for a visit. [5], Publishers Weekly gave the novel a rave review, writing, "Patchett's splendid novel is a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of obsession and forgiveness, what people acquire, keep, lose or give away, and what they leave behind. Widener, built the Philadelphia Railroad Company and the streetcar monopoly, the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, through acquisitions of smaller lines and political opportunism. Although I haven’t read any of Ann Patchett’s other books so perhaps I should start with Bel Canto? Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Their mother Elna left when they were younger. The Dutch House is a marvelously moving novel about a house, its inhabitants, their lives and the impact of the house on everything. The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. It begins in the late 1940s, when Cyril Conroy surprises his wife, Elna, with a glass mansion in the posh Philadelphia neighborhood of Elkins Park. Cyril and Andrea marry. Their children, Danny and Maeve, were raised in the Dutch House. One day, Cyril brings home Andrea, a young, pretty woman with two young girls, Norma and Bright. The titular house is a stunning, glass-fronted mansion in Elkins Park, bought by the family patriarch as a gift to his wife after World War II. The Dutch House is one of those books that reminds my why I love reading so much. Danny is now quite wealthy. Your email address will not be published. Their father is more interested in his real estate holdings than in them, and Maeve and Danny's relationship with Andrea is fractious and later overtly hostile. In The Dutch House, Maeve and Danny are siblings who grow up in a grand house in Elkins Park. Set in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (a Philly suburb I called home for nearly a year), the fictional Dutch House was built by the VanHoebeek family in 1922 and strategically situated on a spectacular property. The family lavishes their fortune on a dwelling that features a ballroom and Delft mantels imported from a castle in Utrecht. Cyril Conroy, a self-made real estate mogul, bought the mansion in 1946 to surprise his wife Elna. Share your thoughts below! Patchett is the author of seven novels and three works of nonfiction, the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, England's Orange Prize, and the Book Sense Book of the Year, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Maeve and Danny Conroy grow up in the storied Dutch House, a 1922 mansion in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park that was commissioned by the VanHoebeek family, who made a fortune in cigarettes and filled their American home with European treasures, ornate mirrors, wood paneling, fanciful windows, and blue Delft mantels "said to have been pried out of a castle in Utrecht … She hates it. It’s now shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. I mean I think some mothers would, but someone who was that concerned about helping others but couldn’t see how her actions would affect her children? The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. One night after almost being seen by Andrea, they agree it's time to stop visiting. I’ll put this one my list and see if I can get to it. It just didn’t sync up with me as a character. Of course, this is an understated and somewhat interior novel, so if that’s not something that interests you, then maybe try something else. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Books Like The Four Winds: 8 Great Books to Read Next, 50 Best Uplifting, Feel-Good Books to Read, 50 Best Books About Libraries or Librarians, 15 Best Websites for Free Audiobooks Online (Updated for 2021), Every 2021 Book to Movie & TV Series Adaptation. And I found the character of their mother a little improbable as well, since her motivations and personality just didn’t make sense to me. It tells the story of a brother and sister over the course of five decades. I thought Bel Canto was a lovely book, and State of Wonder was just okay, but still well written. "[8], Writing for The New York Times Book Review, author Martha Southgate gave the book a positive review, saying, "This novel takes a winding road through the forest and doesn't rush to a finish, nor is the ending wholly surprising. It was built in 1922 by the VanHoebeek family, a husband and wife originally from the Netherlands who made their fortune in the tobacco industry. The house is nicknamed The Dutch House, after the wealthy Dutch family that once inhabited it. Maeve runs into Fluffy, their former nanny, one day.

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